Police and forensic officials inspect the scene of a blast near the office of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the southern Indian city of Bangalore Wednesday. At least 16 people were injured after a blast near the BJP office in Bangalore on Wednesday, police said.

Reuters

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A bomb exploded close to a ruling political party’s office in Bangalore today, raising questions about the security of India's technology capital on the last day to file nominations for next month’s statewide elections.

"It was definitely a explosion. What kind of explosion I can't say at this stage. We initially thought it was a gas cylinder explosion. [Now] we believe it is a motorcycle blast – a motorcycle [has been] destroyed," said Bangalore police chief Raghavendra Auradkar.

Federal junior Home Minister RPN Singh told BBC that investigators were "looking at all possibilities" and has asked that people not "give credence to rumours."

But according to R. Ashok, Karnataka state’s home minister and BJP party member, the blast was a terror attack and the BJP party office was “the probable target.” Surveillance has been stepped up in area train stations, airports, and roadways, and the government has asked for calm throughout the city, reports the Indian Express.

“What gets missed is that every terror strike in India is a failure of Indian intelligence agencies: They have a very poor record of solving terrorism cases and most of the people who get charged for these terrorist incidents, ultimately get acquitted by courts but not before getting their lives destroyed,” says Kashif-ul-Huda, editor of TwoCircles.net, a website on Indian Muslim issues.

A Congress Party spokesman drew swift and critical response today when he published on Twitter that the blast would likely help the BJP party in state elections.

"If the blast near BJP's office in Banglore is a terror attack, it will certainly help the BJP politically on the eve of election (sic)," tweeted Congress Party Spokesman Shakeel Ahmed, according to India’s Zee News.